Three sources told Reuters on July 16 that Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthis to close the Red Sea to shipping if the US attacks Iran’s power network, which President Donald Trump threatened to...
On July 15, Iraq’s Ministry of Finance circulated a banking directive instructing ministries, state entities, and financial institutions to implement recent US Treasury Department sanctions...
On July 16, Syria’s Ministry of Interior announced that it had foiled an “attempt to smuggle a large shipment of sophisticated weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border.” The ministry said...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted a strong interest in his neighbors’ affairs last month, declaring that, “Turkey’s security does not begin in Hatay [in southern Turkey], but rather...
Syria convened its new parliament on July 12, the first to meet since the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024. The new parliament, called the People’s Assembly, met after Syrian...
Vis-à-vis Moscow and Tehran, Trump should do the opposite
The prospect of a revived Turkish empire poses a new threat to Arab sovereignty.
On June 26, Israel and Lebanon signed the Trilateral Framework Between the United States, Israel, and Lebanon, whose goal is to end the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, secure both countries’ sovereignty...
“I promised to remove all barriers stopping you from rebuilding your country, and very soon, you will finally be able to do so,” President Donald Trump wrote in a letter to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa...
The agreement signed last month between Israel and Lebanon includes two designated "pilot zones" where the Lebanese army's ability to disarm Hezbollah will be tested. The success, or failure, of that initiative will influence the entire deal
Just three weeks after it was signed, the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran is on life support. Tehran’s promise to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for international...
The inclusion of Syria on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list is important leverage the U.S. should not give up easily.
Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze chief Walid Jumblatt have so far sided with Hezbollah by denouncing the June 26 Trilateral Framework between Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S.
Trend Overview Welcome back to the Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker. Once a month, we ask FDD’s experts and scholars to assess the administration’s foreign policy. They provide trendlines...
The Pentagon may have missed a significant deadline on Lebanon. Congress, in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, gave the secretary of defense until June 30 to report on how to assess Lebanese...
There may be a ceasefire in Lebanon, but Hezbollah’s pocketbook is still in the world’s sights. On June 30, the United States and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) jointly imposed sanctions...
Iran’s rulers think Trump is as beatable as his predecessors
The new U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon framework has its strengths and weaknesses. But one immediate and unequivocal benefit is that it buries the misguided idea that Hezbollah should have a seat at the...